2017-02-12 Water Delivery Event

03/02/2017, 1:00pm

Below is a link to the completed police investigation into the second City of Blaine water delivery issue which occurred on February 12, 2017.

As with the first investigation on the January 8, 2017 water delivery issue, the Blaine Police Department determined there was neither criminal intent nor criminal action to disrupt water service to the City of Blaine and there was no known attack on the City of Blaine water supply.

In regards to the police Investigation of the February 12, 2017 water delivery issue, it was determined a failure occurred with a UPS device (universal power supply, also known as an uninterruptable power supply). Because of this failure, communication from the system to on-call utility staff did not occur.

The City is required to redact portions of this investigation per state law, specifically chapter 13 of the MN Government Data Practices Act.

02/23/2017, 2:00pm

Blaine Water Update—
Flowing, Safe and Getting a Thorough Review

Two water service disruptions within five weeks in January and February caused elected officials and staff at city hall to take immediate action. The inconveniences caused to residents, businesses and visitors are unacceptable.

The Mayor, Councilmembers, and City Staff would like to sincerely apologize to everyone affected by the recent water service disruptions. Keeping our public safe is job one. We’re all committed to that principle and we’re working hard to keep this from happening again.

Elected officials and staff at Blaine City Hall have taken several immediate steps to ensure continued delivery of water services.

After both incidents, water samples were tested from more than a dozen sites in the city. Results confirm the water is safe.
We have replaced malfunctioning equipment and increased the frequency of manual system monitoring.
We have addressed software and hardware issues that were related to the breakdown in alarm communications.
We have contracted with Barr Engineering, an award-winning engineering and environmental consulting firm headquartered in Minneapolis. Barr is conducting a thorough, independent review of all aspects of the water system—software, hardware, system design, and security. Their work will take a few weeks.
A police investigation of the January event shows no criminal intent, no hacking. An investigation of the February 12 incident is nearing completion and also shows no criminal intent, no hacking.
As we move through this review process, please watch the city website for updates at http://www.ci.blaine.mn.us.

If you have any questions regarding our steps or if you have questions about your water at your home, please contact 763-785-6165 weekdays between 7 am and 3 pm.

As always, in case of an emergency, please dial 9-1-1.

02/15/2017, 7:01pm

Below is a link to the completed Police Investigation into the City of Blaine Water Delivery Issue that occurred on January 8, 2017.

The Blaine Police Department has determined there was neither criminal intent nor criminal action to disrupt water service to the City of Blaine and there are no known attacks on the City of Blaine water supply or the systems which support the water supply system.

We were required to redact portions of this investigation to ensure that we complied with MN State Law, specifically Chapter 13 of the MN Government Data Practices Act.

02/13/2017, 10:39pm

Blaine Discontinues Precautionary Water Boil Advisory

Effective February 13, 2017, 10:39 pm, the Precautionary Boil Water Advisory is discontinued.

The results of the test performed by a lab certified by the Minnesota Department of Health indicates that there are no safety or contamination issues with the water. Residents and businesses may resume using water for normal day-to-day activities.

02/13/2017, 5:15pm, Press Conference

02/13/2017, 12:05pm

The City of Blaine is working with a certified testing facility to complete the water tests. Results are expected around 10:00pm this evening. The water test requires a 24-hour culture before results are known. The precautionary boil advisory is still in effect until further notice. Please monitor the City’s website for further updates.

Our initial investigation indicates the water pressure loss was due to an internal power supply failure at Water Tower #1, located in Aquatore Park. This power supply failure disrupted our utility communication system. As water demand increased during the day and into Sunday evening, the system was unable to activate additional pumps and failed to send out water tower level alarms to on-call staff.

The power supply has been replaced, additional steps are being taken and additional redundancies are being put in place. The City is working with outside experts to further audit our utility system for technology and security improvements.

02/13/2017, 10:28am

Anoka County Community Health and Environmental Services is providing guidance to Blaine area food service establishments regarding the current boil advisory to ensure safety precautions are being taken until the advisory is lifted.

Please check the City of Blaine website (http://www.ci.blaine.mn.us/go/eoc) for further updates.

Questions? Please call Anoka County Community Health and Environmental Services at 763-422-7063.

02/12/2017, 9:22pm

School District Information

Anoka-Hennepin School District
Blaine schools closed Monday, Feb. 13, due to water supply issue

Blaine schools will be closed on Monday, Feb.13, 2017, due to a water supply issue in the city late today that warranted a boil alert. This includes Adventures Plus before- and after-school care and preschool. A decision on tomorrow’s evening activities will be made by noon.

It’s anticipated that school will resume on Tuesday, Feb. 14, after water testing has been completed.

If you're a student that attends another school, but gets picked up at a Blaine school, your bus will still be there to transport you.

The closed schools include:

Jefferson Elementary School
Johnsville Elementary School
Madison Elementary School
University Avenue Elementary School
Roosevelt Middle School
Blaine High School
Please continue to check our website for the latest information.

Spring Lake Park, Sunday, February 12

We were just notified about a water outage in the city of Blaine. Due to this outage, there will be no school on Monday, February 13 for students who attend Northpoint Elementary, Westwood Intermediate School and Westwood Middle School. School will be held on a regular schedule at Park Terrace, Woodcrest Spanish Immersion, Lighthouse School and Spring Lake Park High School. School will also resume for Early Childhood and Preschool students. Updates will be shared on Monday as more information becomes available.

Cenntennial School District

CENTENNIAL ELEMENTARY AND CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL CLOSED ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13
All other schools are open and classes are in session. See "More" for more information.

02/12/2017, 8:27pm

Blaine Water Boil Advisory

The City of Blaine is currently conducting an investigation into the drop in water pressure most citizens experienced tonight. At this time, we are unable to determine if the pressure loss was enough to warrant a boil advisory. As a result, we are implementing a precautionary water boil advisory at this time. We ask that you boil your water for consumption and refer you to the Minnesota Department of Health website for instruction on how to conduct this (See below). Once we are able to say with certainty the boil advisory is no longer in effect you will be notified on the City of Blaine webpage.

02/12/2017, 6:55pm

Today at a little after 5:00 pm, we began to receive calls from the public, social media, and Anoka County Central Communications about a drop of water pressure throughout the City of Blaine.

Immediately, Public Works staff was notified and began to work to restore pressure. The Blaine Emergency Operation Center (EOC) was activated to monitor the issue. Pumps are running, and we are restoring full pressure.

It's unknown if this is related to last month's loss of water. It's too early to determine if a water pressure loss was enough to trigger a boil advisory.

02/12/2017, 5:19pm

We have been notified of the water delivery problem. We have staff checking into problem and will update soon. Thank you for your patience.

Blaine Water Update—Flowing, Safe and Getting a Thorough ReviewTwo water service disruptions within five weeks in January and February caused elected officials and staff at city hall to take immediate action. The inconveniences caused to residents, businesses and visitors are unacceptable, according to Mayor Tom Ryan.“Councilmembers, city staff and I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone affected by the recent water service disruptions,” Mayor Ryan said. “Keeping our public safe is job one. We’re all committed to that principle and we’re working hard to keep this from happening again.”Elected officials and staff at Blaine City Hall have taken several immediate steps to ensure continued delivery of water services.After both incidents, water samples were tested from more than a dozen sites in the city. Results confirm the water is safe.We have replaced malfunctioning equipment and increased the frequency of manual system monitoring.We have addressed software and hardware issues that were related to the breakdown in alarm communications.We have contracted with Barr Engineering, an award-winning engineering and environmental consulting firm headquartered in Minneapolis. Barr is conducting a thorough, independent review of all aspects of the water system—software, hardware, system design, and security. Their work will take a few weeks.A police investigation of the January event shows no criminal intent, no hacking. An investigation of the February 12 incident is nearing completion and also shows no criminal intent, no hacking.As we move through this review process, please watch the city website for updates atHTTP://WW.CI.BLAINE.MN.US.In addition, we have several notifications options available to you including opt-in email or SMS/text updates at HTTP://WW.CI.BLAINE.MN.US/SUBSCRIBE.We remain committed to reaching out to you via our social media channels,Facebook, Twitter and Nextdoor.Our Police Department has partnered with Tip411. We encourage everyone to download the free mobile applications via Google App Store or iTunes. You may also sign up for Tip411 updates from the Blaine Police Department at http://www.ci.blaine.mn.us/tip411.If you have any questions regarding our steps or if you have questions about your water at your home, please contact 763-785-6165 weekdays between 7 am and 3 pm.As always, in case of an emergency, please dial 9-1-1.